Same-same But Different by Clive Cussler

July, 2011

Dick Lit. Jess the Younger insisted we read at least one Dick Lit book and in an inspired moment of brilliance suggested we should all read a different Clive Cussler novel we can then compare to see how similar they are. It turns out we all had different Cussler books and they were essentially all same-same but different. Collectively we covered 7 Dirk Pitt and 1 Issac Bell novels. About 3 of us didn't finish, either because they couldn't bring themselves to start, or because they couldn't bring themselves to finish! Actually I think Clive has secured his spot at the bottom of the collective favouritism list for this book club...

The basic structure, we summarised, goes like this:

• Start with a lengthy prologue involving some kind of accident involving a vehicle crash, wreck, sabotage etc. usually in the past.
• Introduce the main characters, either starting or ending with the hero.
• Ensure all women are drop-deap gorgeous, and spend several paragraphs at various stages highlighting how extraordinarily beautiful they are.
• At some stage, the hero has sex with the amazingly gorgeous woman.
• Throw in a plot twist. This can be unexpected, but only if you're in the mood.
• Hero saves the day.
• The end.

As always, feel free to chastise me if I have grossly misrepresented the groups feelings here!

NEXT MONTH: We are compensating for our literary sins by reading Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.